Each name is linked here to the website or blog I could find for them, with some commentary from me. And since I’m a fan of blogging for ministry purposes, I’ll note when they have a blog.

1. Joel Osteen

2. Billy Graham – I met his grandson Will Graham at Midwestern a while back when he came to speak in chapel and was extremely impressed. He’s the real deal. And I look forward to seeing how God uses his grandson in the year to come.

3. Bill Hybels – Named also one of Time’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals.

4. T.D. Jakes

5. James Dobson – I’m extremely impressed at how huge of a publishing ministry that Focus on the Family is. They’ve got some incredible magazines, like Plugged In.

6. Paul Crouch

7. Joyce Meyer

8. Leonard Sweet – I’ve enjoyed reading some of his books like Postmodern Pilgrims and I’m looking forward to checking out his upcoming book The Gospel According to Starbucks. He’s edgy, sometimes makes me uncomfortable the way he says things, but I appreciate the tension.

9. John Piper – I adore his passion for both the Word but also for the Mission. He’s a prolific writer and blogs (or at least has some content up) at The Resurgence. Check out the 2006 National Conference where he had Mark Driscoll and Tim Keller among others speaking.

10. Rob Bell – I admire his communication style … it’s not one I could pull off, but I appreciate it. Check out his NOOMA videos.

11. George W. Bush – Pray for him and our leaders.

12. Erwin McManus — Love his communication style. And would relish the opportunity to visit his church soon. A friend of mine who interviewed him for a story said he’s the real deal, very authentic.

13. Robert Schuller

14. William Franklin Graham III – Of course Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse go hand-in-hand. I had the opportunity to help with a Festival in Tulsa a couple years back. I was impressed with the organization of it and the prayer and evangelistic efforts that go into a Graham evangelistic event. See also this USA Today story called Billy Graham’s Son Takes the Pulpit, His Own Way.

15. Luis Palau

16. Rick Warren – Keep an eye on his P.E.A.C.E. Plan …

17. Chuck Colson

18. Paul Crouch Jr.

19. Paula White

20. Andy Stanley — His book Communicating for a Change is one I’ll go back and reference for years to come. He’s an outstanding communicator.

21. Joni Eareckson Tada – A person that really needs no introduction. Inspiring.

22. Harry Jackson

23. Dr. Al Mohler – OK, I’ve been waiting to highlight a prolific blogger on this list and here he is. The word is he devours books like they’re actually a part of the food chain.

24. Anne Graham Lotz — I’ve heard that the Grahams say she’s the real preacher in the family.

25. Jay Sekulow – Wow, he made Business Week.

26. Ed Young Jr. — Anybody attending the Creative Conference in February? I’m making plans to go as I haven’t been to Fellowship Church yet.

27. Chuck Swindoll — One big ole booming voice!

28. Dr. Jack Hayford

29. Tommy Barnett — His church has one rockin’ website.

30. Marcus Lamb – One on the list I had actually near heard of …

31. Dr. Richard Land — Southern Baptists voice for “faith and family.”

32. Charles Stanley

33. Max Lucado – He must just wake up writing books … how does he do it?

34. Bishop Eddie Long

35. John Maxwell

36. John Hagee

37. Dr. James Kennedy

38. George Barna – Perhaps the most quoted statistician in the church.

39. Rod Parsley

40. Jerry Falwell

41. Sam Brownback — The second politician so far on the list. I know his name because I heard it a lot when we lived in Kansas City.

42. John MacArthur — I own more books by him than almost anyone else. His study Bible was instrumental in my early days as a believer. I found him online and printed off probably 1,000 pages of sermons and read them.

43. Dr. John Vaughan – The ultimate list guy! It doesn’t surprise me he’s on this list. He’s helping keep track of the “megachurch phenomenon.” I appreciate his work.

44. Beth Moore

45. Michael Slaughter – Surprisingly, he’s another one I haven’t heard a lot about.

46. Phil Vischer — Think Veggie Tales. And he’s using WordPress for his blog.

47. Dr. Frank Page – President of the Southern Baptist Convention.

48. Creflo Dollar

49. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

50. Frank Sommerville

For the full list, along with a short bio, see the Church Report.

Note: If I’ve got a website wrong, please indicate it in the comments, or send me an email. Also, by linking to these sites I do not necessarily endorse them, their theology, or their choice hair gel.

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“Congregations that have started or maintained a website in the past year are most likely to grow. The effort to have a website indicates that the congregation is outward looking and willing to change by non-traditional means.”

Download the full report as a PDF here. [Found via LeadingSmart.]

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Here’s the top 10 (plus a couple more) from the list with some commentary from yours truly:

1. LifeChurch – No surprise here really. Their main campus is about 3 whole miles from my dwelling place. I’ve watched them do some incredible, edgy, out of the box stuff. Here’s my post on 8 Lessons Learned from their recent MySecret.tv site.

2. Granger Community Church – Again, no surprises. I think of them a lot when I think of “innovative churches.” Tim Stevens, Tony Morgan and Kem Meyer all participated in my Blogging 101 for Pastors series. Check out their Q&As. I’ve wanted to attend Kem’s Communications Workshop for a year now and just wasn’t able to make it. I’ve had the good fortune to interview both Tim Stevens and Mark Beeson for Pastors.com and loved it. I was telling someone the other day that “Granger gets it.” It seems like they’ve brought in the all-stars for ministry and freed them up to fly! Go, Granger, Go!

3. North Point Community Church — I read Andy Stanley’s Communicating for a Change and it was really inspiring to me and humbling. I really appreciate and respect his communication style.

4. Fellowship Church – Again, Andy Stanley and Ed Young are the young, hip leaders. I’m happy to know they are helping set the pace for the next generation. Attending a FC service is on my to-do list as they’re only about 4 hours from me in OKC.

5. Mosaic Church – I’ve heard from a friend that Erwin McManus is the real deal. I believe it. Love his communication style. And by the way, Mosaic’s website uses WordPress! WOW!

6. Seacoast Church – Don’t know much about Seacoast other than they use blogs as part of their communications method …

7. Community Christian Church — Again, don’t know much. I emailed Dave Ferguson for my Blogging 101 Q&A series but didn’t hear back.

8. National Community Church – Personally, and I am entitled to my opinion, right?, but I think they should be higher on the list. I have not heard a pastor so involved, interested and engaging in regards to using technology and marketing for ministry as Mark Batterson. His blog is HUGE. Tons of feedreaders. And I thoroughly enjoy hearing him and reading him talk about ministry. He puts things in ways that helps me communicate hard concepts (marketing) to other people.

9. Mars Hill Church — “Strategic chaos” is a phrase Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll uses in his excellent book Confessions of a Reformissionary Rev. When everything got good with his church plant, he shook things up — strategic chaos. That’s bold, baby!

10. New Hope Christian Fellowship O’ahu – Don’t really know much about this church other than the name of the pastor — Wayne Cordeiro.

Others I’m familiar with on the list:

15. Redeemer Presbyterian Church — Tim Keller is one of my favorite pastor-teachers to listen to. Incredible insights on being missional. And he’s reaching young people in NYC.

16. Healing Place Church — They’re using technology, like Dino’s ROCKIN’ COOL blog site, in a beautiful way. In fact, their church website and Dino’s blog are one of the neatest in the biz (I mean ministry!).

17. The Journey — Nelson Searcy is an up-and-coming (if not already there) church innovator. I’ve mentioned their free book offer a bunch of times and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for this innovative church, which was started right around 9/11.

18. Saddleback Church – It’s Saddleback. Need I say more? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Pastors.com and Purpose Driven. Great bunch of people!

23. Radiant Church — Awesome website … see their Q&A in my Building Rockin’ Cool Church Websites here.

[Thanks to Kent for the link!]

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The special site is loaded with great content, including Holiday Ideas in the form of downloadable PDF tips, Music Downloads of Christmas songs performed at Saddleback, and of course services times and venue information and a campus map.

This is an excellent example of using the Web! Rock on, Saddleback!

[Found via Pastors.com]

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He elaborates on this advice, but says simply to: “listen, answer, or dismiss.”

As founding pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in the U.S., I know he hears lot of complains and criticism (from ALL sides) … being on the cutting edge of ministry will do that!

Related posts:

1. Current LifeChurch.tv Series Tonight we

This map is interactive, scroll over the red balloons to see the churches.

Get the widescreen version here.

Note: Church locations are approximate to the city they are located in.

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